


twenty miles from anyone

by teenagefgt



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Everything is the Same, F/F, F/M, M/M, Platonic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, and before we learnt about when fred and her broke up, but at the same time everything is the same, i also wrote this before archie's mom came into play, i started writing this when the show was only at episode 7, im not sorry, im sorry, so like, so this is my own take on her, soul marks, this does not follow along with anything in episodes 8 - 11, up until that point, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 18:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10791819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teenagefgt/pseuds/teenagefgt
Summary: "Suddenly, something yawned awake from deep within Archie and his shoulders slumped in defeat. His lips tightened up in a sarcastic smile and he took half a step back, "I don't even care, Jughead." He announced, voice low and raw with emotion, "I haven't found my soulmate yet and I'm so fucking alone, so I'll just take it where I can get it."Stunned silence filled the space between both of them, and Jughead raised his eyebrows in question, searching for words to say."And frankly," Archie continued, breaking the quiet of the night, "I'm not even that attracted to her. I don't know if that's a soulmate thing - if we're born already in love and that prevents any other type of relationship, but I'm not. She was just there. And she helped me with my music and she fills the space that's supposed to be my soulmate.""In which everyone has a soul mark, and everyone is meeting their soul mates and living happily - except Archie.





	twenty miles from anyone

**Author's Note:**

> saw this thing once on tumblr, it went something like "if you can't tell that they're in love, then it's not a good love story" and i kept that in mind the entire time writing this.  
> i advise that you do, too

It's said in Greek mythology that humans were originally created with two heads, four arms and four legs. Fearing their power, the God of all Gods, Zeus had split them - ripping the soul they shared in half.

Some believe that that is the origin of the soul-marks we bare now. That when Zeus ripped the humans apart and doomed them to live half lives, constantly incomplete and in search of the other half of their soul, it branded us. Every human now carries a symbol - a tattoo, a birthmark, a burn, a scar - on their skin, half complete.

However, the moment someone meets their soulmate, the complete picture sears itself into completion, revealing who you had been searching for for your whole life.

This story begins in the small town of Riverdale.

More specifically, on a street with the most generic white-picket fenced houses that someone would ever lay their eyes on.

In one house is a 4 year old little girl, with a 5 year old sister. She will grow up to be the all-American dream girl, with her bluer than blue eyes and her straight A's in high school and her sweet, melodic voice. Her sister will suffer a tradgey in the years to come and this 4 year old will lose her role model, her best friend, her mentor, and it'll show in her blue eyes for years following. The blue will dim. No one will be able to help her.

In the house next to this 4 year old girl, is a 4 year old boy with fiery hair and a scar between his eyebrows. He will grow up trying to impress everyone he's surrounded by but he is so far from perfect. He'll grow up and play football for a college scholarship, and he'll work for his dad so he can take over the company and he'll struggle in classes at school so he can get straight A's. He will be miserable. His dark brown eyes will dull from this bright spark to a blank slate. No one will be able to help him.

In a house across the street from these two 4 year olds, a family will move in with their own 4 year old boy with skin as white as snow, like he never saw the light of day before. He will grow up with a cold nothingness crushing him from the inside and he'll obsess over fire because he hopes to warm his core. He will grow up and climb a tree at 8 years old and realize he wouldn't care if he fell to his death. He will be bullied from grade 7 to grade 12 for being the creepy emo kid. No one will be able to help him.

The three of them met at 5 years old.

Maybe the pale boy would have met the blue-eyed girl and the redheaded boy sooner but he never wanted to leave his house. He was too scared.

Maybe the redheaded boy would have met the blue-eyed girl and the pale boy sooner but he was always playing in the backyard. He was so alone.

Maybe the blue-eyed girl would have met the pale boy and the redheaded boy sooner but her mother never let her make friends. She was very controlled.

Nevertheless, the day they met, everything changed.

"Archibald Andrews." A woman with strict brown eyes planted her hands on her hips as a filthy 5 year old tracked muddy footprints through the house. He immediately stopped and hung his head, turning around to face his mother.

A sheepish grin was on his face as he looked up to his mom.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Going pee." Archie spoke softly, averting his eyes.

His mother huffed out an exasperated sigh and eyed the trail of footprints on the tiled floor of the kitchen, "What did I tell you about taking your shoes off?"

"Leave them at the door."

A curt nod, and Archie was put to work, cleaning up his mess with his mom. His dad came home not to long after, and stopped, baffled at the sight of his five year old son, on his hands and knees, scrubbing at the floor.

Fred Andrews grabbed his wife and pulled her away from their son, "What the fuck do you think you’re doing? He's only 5."

She huffed indignantly, "He made a mess."

"So? He's 5. He's supposed to make a mess and we're supposed to clean up after him. That's what parents do."

Without waiting for a reply, Fred turned away from his wife and called out Archie's name, and the little redhead dropped everything he was doing and went bolting to his father's arms for a hug.

Fred began to usher little Archie away from his mother, asking him how he got so muddy in the first place. Their voices eventually faded from the kitchen as Fred grabbed Archie's favourite hat and shoved it on his head, "Go out and play, Arch."

With a smile, Archie ran off and hopped into his little red toy car, riding it around on the sidewalk. Fred stayed by the window inside to keep an eye on his little boy and in the distance, he saw FP walking up the street with his little boy, slushies in hand.

"Hey, hun. When did the Jones move back into town?

Out on the street, Forsythe Jones pulled his hand away from his dad's and pointed at Archie, "Daddy, who is that?"

FP Jones smiled and tilted his head, curious himself, "I don't know, kiddo, but he's got a cool car there. Why don't you go play with him?"

Forsythe instantly folded into himself, recoiling at the thought of interaction, but his dad shuffled him along and cooed soothing words into his ear about how he should make new friends before starting school. Reluctantly, Forsythe walked over to Archie, slurping noisily at his slushie and waved shyly at the little redhead.

Archie peered out from the window of his little toy car he was sitting in and squinted at Forsythe, "Who are you?"

The moment the words fell from little 5 year old Archie's lips, there was a tingling sensation spreading across his rib cage. His chubby fingers curiously and gingerly covered his side, and his bright brown eyes flickered down to where Forsythe's free hand did the same.

Neither of them will remember this moment.

Forsythe squinted his eyes and slurped at his slushie, letting a silence fall over the two for a second before replying, "I don't like my name."

"Why?" Archie dropped his hand as the tingling faded, focusing on Forsythe.

"It's dumb." He spoke around the straw lodged into his mouth, fingers tapping against his rib cage like they had a mind of their own, "I like your hat."

Archie's hand immediately went to his head, tugging off the loose beanie he was wearing. His fiery red hair spilled out from under it, messy and bright and thick. The over sized beanie he was wearing was black, worn in and had two pins on it, one red and one white. It was in the shape of a crown, with points sticking up all around the rim.

Looking up at this pale kid with his thick black hair, Archie smiled and held the hat out to him, "Do you want it?"

Forsythe pulled the straw from his lips and took a step back, "I can't take your hat from you."

But Archie was adamant and he wiggled out of his toy car and stood up, facing his new friend. His fingers were clumsy as he pulled the hat over Forsythe's head and pushed his hair out of his pale eyes, "Yeah, you can."

This was the day that Forsythe Pendleton Jones III became Jughead. Somehow, that was the nickname that Archie came up with after seeing his crown beanie on Forsythe's head, because he needed something to call the boy.

A couple days after that, Betty Cooper ran into Jughead and Archie while the two boys were playing in the street. Her mother didn't approve of her little sweet girl befriending these two rambunctious boys but the second it happened, there was nothing Alice Cooper could do to keep the three apart. (Besides, Betty's older sister liked them so who cares what her mom says.)

They were 8 years old when FP Jones and Fred Andrews teamed up to build their boys a tree house in the Jone's backyard.

Jughead was 10 years old when he stole his dad's lighter.

It was one of those cool metal ones that clicked as it flicked open and it had the design of a serpent coiled into a figure 8 engraved into it. His ten year old mind was fascinated by it, like the stereotypical blonde chick. ( _ooooh, shiny thing_.)

He would flick it open during classes, when the noise level in the room would get really loud and no one could hear the click and flick of the lighter sparking. The flame would lick at his skin, dancing around his fingers and he would stop right as his fingers tingled in pre-burn.

During lunch period he sat in the bathroom, clicking the lighter open and closed, open and closed. He would lose himself in the orange and red and yellow. His nose stung with the smell of gasoline wafting up it and his bones ached with the nothingness weighing down on them.

Curiosity struck his mind and he leaned forward, flicking the lighter to life under the roll of toilet paper hanging from the bathroom stall wall. It erupted in flames quickly and illuminated the walls of the stall. The smoke burned his eyes and heat pressed in all around him and for a brief, brief moment, Jughead felt warm.

The alarms of his school went off immediately and he was found guilty for trying to burn down his school when in reality he was just trying to burn himself.

When he was sent off for a few months to Juvie, Archie gave him a picture of the two of them in their tree house, the day it was first built and told him, "We'll be together again before you know it. You can't get away from me that easily."

The day Jughead got out of Juvie, his dad picked up him. He was more pale and more withdrawn than he had ever been before and FP was suspicious. The passenger side door opened and the 10 year old slid into the car. He was radiating with nothingness, the bitter cold of his core rolling off him in waves and he didn't even bother to smile or look at his father when FP tried to start a conversation.

The car ride home was cold and quiet and strained. Jughead had his forehead pressed to the window the entire time, his eyes unfocused and staring at the scenery passing him by in blurs of colours and lights.

Archie was waiting for him in the tree house when Jughead crawled his way up there. He didn't even stop to talk to him mom, or see Jellybean, he just ran right through his house, dropping his bag off as he went and grabbing his whoopee cap as well.

Bright brown eyes lit up as Jughead's face poked up through the door and instantly, the pale boy was enveloped in a tight bear hug. Archie's face was buried in his neck and his arms were wrapped around his waist, pulling Jughead flush against him. Fiery red hair tickled his chin and for the second that that hug lasted, Jughead tingled with warmth.

"These last few months without you sucked." Archie mumbled against Jughead's shoulder and pulled back.

He noticed that the treehouse had changed since Jughead last saw it, now that he had a chance to look around. There were white Christmas lights strung from the ceiling and encircling the windows, attached to an extension cord that slithered out of the door frame, bathing the small room in a soft glow. There was a mattress in one corner with fleece sheets and huge, feathery blankets and more pillows than needed. Under one of the windows was a new bookshelf covered in comic books and novels but the bottom shelf had nothing but paint and paint brushes. The very top of the bookshelf had all of the action figures that Archie and Jughead collected over the past year together. In the corner between the bookshelf and the door frame was a medium sized easel with a couple canvas' already on it. In the last corner, on the other side of the door and beside the mattress was a big bean bag chair with an imprint of Archie's butt in it.

Turning away from Jughead, Archie looked around sheepishly, "Do you like it? Your dad and my dad helped me decorate it for you for when you came home."

A shaky grin tugged at Jughead's lips and he glanced at Archie from the corner of his eye. When Archie caught his gaze, Jughead couldn't help but feel, for one brief moment, that this was home. Not his bedroom, not in the house with his parents - but right here, in this tree house, by Archie's side. This was his home.

"I love it."

A week later, Betty Cooper crawled into the tree house to find Archie sprawled out on the bed, reading comic books and Jughead planted in front of the easel, painting something that she couldn't make out.

She planted her butt in the bean bag chair, "Have your guys' parents told you about soul marks yet? Polly just told me all about them."

Jughead's hand faltered, his fingers tightening around his paintbrush and Archie glanced up from his comic book with a frown.

"Not mine," Archie replied and turned his eyes over to Jughead, "How about yours, Jug?"

Jughead shook his head and turned around to face his best friends, "No. Why?"

Betty sighed and tilted her head back against the wall, "They're so cool. Polly says they're these things that we're born with, like birth marks."

Leaning forward, Betty pulled her sleeve up and revealed a black design under the bend of her elbow. Archie's eyebrows scrunched up and he leaned forward, "What is it?"

Betty shrugged, "I have no idea. Polly says it's supposed to complete itself when you meet your soulmate."

Neither Jughead nor Archie replied to her and a strained silence fell over the treehouse.

"Do, uh -" averting her eyes, Betty stuttered out, "Do you guys know what yours are?"

Rolling over to read his comic book further, Archie mindlessly said, "Nope." and Jughead shook his head as he went back to his painting.

Sighing, Betty asked again, "What do you think a soulmate is?" There was a longing in her voice and a far away look in her eyes, daydreams and fantasies flitting across her young mind.

"Who knows?" Jughead replied, short and sweet and that was the end of the conversation. They were only 10, after all. They don’t need to worry about that kind of stuff yet.

Archie was 14 when he finally found his soul mark.

He never really bothered to look for it before. His life was consumed with school and making his dad proud. After his mom left when he was around 9 years old, it was just Archie and his dad and his dad was his whole world. How could he not want to throw his mind, body and soul into his school and football just to see that proud glow on his father’s face? It was one of the only times his dad didn’t seem like he was drowning.

(Archie just didn’t realize he started to drown, himself.)

"Hey, Dad!" Archie yelled throughout the house as he flung open his bedroom door at 7 in the morning.

Fred's voice echoed back, "What is it, Arch?"

Shirtless and confused, Archie left his room with his t-shirt in his hand. Standing at the top of the staircase, he called out, "Tell me about soul marks."

The house went quiet.

"Dad?" Making his way down the stairs, Archie called out again.

"I don't like to talk about soul marks, son."

"But dad -"

"No.'

Fred turned away from the coffee machine and looked at his son, who was entering the kitchen now. His knuckles were white around his coffee cup and he fixed Archie with a hard stare that made him immediatly stop in his tracks, jaw clicking shut.

A curt nod was directed at the 14 year old and that was the end of the conversation, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

The first thing Archie did was hunt Betty down at school.

She was standing at her locker with books crowding her arms and a bag lazily slung over her shoulder. Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail and her blue eyes were so wide and curious and twinkled with intelligence.

Archie slammed her locker closed with one hand to catch her attention, a wild and desperate look on his face, clouding his brown eyes, "Tell me about soul marks."

"Arch - What?"

Shoulders slumping, Archie fell into pace beside her, "I tried to ask my dad but he won't talk to me about them. I think there's something wrong with mine."

Betty looked at Archie like he was crazy, "There can't be anything wrong with your soul mark. That's impossible."

She then laid a hand on his shoulder and tilted her head to the side, gazing at him with such a gentle fondness, Archie's stomach churned, "Archie, don't worry about it. You should be focussing on school and your football. Your soul mark will have it's time, and you'll be okay."

"No, that's not - Betty, wait."

But Betty already disappeared into her classroom and Archie ran a hand through his hair, nearly ripping it out from how frustrated he suddenly was.

When Archie was 16, Jason Blossom was pronounced dead on the 11th of June.

The only person who knew the exact time was Cheryl Blossom, who was startled awake at 4:54 am to a burning sensation on her hand.

Her soul mark was that of a cherry blossom on the palm of her right hand. She was born with her soul mark complete, because like many others, her twin brother Jason was her soul mate.

At 4:54 am, her hand was in so much pain it felt like it had been crushed and broken and thrown into a fire, burnt to a crisp. At this ungodly hour, Cheryl Blossom watched her soul mark fade from existence and she sobbed as she lost a part of herself.

Cheryl will never be seen without an elegant lace glove on her right hand, blocking the memory of what used to be.

Polly Cooper was ripped away from her family on the 4th of July, the same day Jason Blossom went missing.

Her mom had stood in the kitchen, watching two men grab her daughter and drag her away, kicking and screaming, betrayal sparkling in her blue eyes. She could feel all of her hopes and dreams being crushed like a piece of paper being crumpled in her hand.

When Betty had come home to a quiet house, she felt as though her lungs were collapsing in on themselves, her rib cage cracking and crumbling - her heart fell to the floor with nothing holding it in.

Her parent's told her that Polly was sick, that she's just at a place that will help her and then she'll come home. But they couldn't meet Betty's eyes and they couldn't look at each other. 

Betty tried to throw herself into things that she loved to get her mind off of the emptiness weighing down on her shoulders, but her motivation dwindled without her sister around. She had lost her number one supporter, her role model, her best friend and her parents wouldn't even talk about her.

Her eyes didn't sparkle anymore.

Archie and Betty sat in a booth at Pop's, talking about what they had done all summer, carefully avoiding the topic of the death of Jason Blossom. Betty spoke of her internship and the inspiring words that were seared onto the forefront of her mind by her idol Toni Morrison and Archie - Well, he laid it all out of the table about how he started writing music. It was a bit hard for him to talk about because writing music wasn't in his game plan. It's always been one track minded - Get decent grades, be a football star, get a scholarship, go to college, take over dad's business. Who was he to start writing music?

And then, _she_ walked in.

Her wide eyes stared down Archie as she glanced over and her surprised expression at the retro diner was enticing. Her lips were dark and promising and her hair shone like a panther's coat as she pulled her hood down. Her heels clicked against the tile, clicked in the rhythm of a heartbeat and Archie could swear that it was just his heartbeat he was hearing, pounding in his ears. But she was all sharp edges and dark Marilyn Monroe and she could murder him and he'd say _thank you_.

Then, she looked down at Betty and Archie, said "Hi" and Betty immediately flinched and grabbed her elbow, looking at Archie with the most panicked expression he had ever seen on anyone.

This girl looked down at the worried expressions and cocked her eyebrow and Betty looked back up at her with pleading eyes.

Then she felt it, too. The tingling right under her elbow, the rushing blood in her ears, the warmth flowing through her veins.

Betty moved her hand and looked down, and there it was. Her soul mark in all it's glory - a megaphone that closely resembled that on the uniform of the River Vixen's cheerleading uniforms. The other half finally seared itself into her skin and settled and a huge grin broke across this new girls face.

Pulling back her coat and extending her arm, she revealed her arm and glanced from her soul mark to Betty's soul mark.

They matched.

Archie slumped back against the booth as he watched the new girl, now introduced as Veronica Lodge, gaze upon Betty with such gentle care and a sweet smile.

Something curdled in his stomach and a dull throb resonated behind his eyes. Was this jealousy?

He just wanted to find his soulmate one day.

At the back to school formal, Betty and Veronica danced together, and Archie drowned himself in the spiked punch, letting the noise drown out his thoughts.

He didn't go to Cheryl's after party, but went straight to Pop's for a milkshake and fries to try and sober up.

The last thing Archie wanted was to run into Jughead at Pops at 11pm while drunk and depressed.

Jughead peered over the top of his laptop as the bell twinkled above the door and instantly narrowed his eyes at Archie.

The redhead didn't break eye contact for one drunken second as he made his way over to Jughead and stood beside the table. His mussed up hair and undone bow tie gave him a rugged walk-of-shame vibe and Jughead pursed his lips.

"Uh -" Archie finally glanced away, "Can I sit, Jughead?"

Jughead had to suppress an eye roll, "If you want."

Archie slid into the booth opposite of him and his head swam around, his vision dipping in and out of focus. He blinked hard. This probably wasn't a good idea.

One look into Jughead's eyes and Archie wanted to talk to him about everything - but they weren't friends anymore. He couldn't tell him and after what he did to Jughead, his former best friend probably didn't even care.

So, instead, he opted for, "What are you working on?" And flickered his eyes toward Jughead's laptop.

Staring at his screen to avoid eye contact, Jughead answered, "My novel. It's about this summer. And Jason Blossom."

That name tugged on Archie's soul and he leaned forward, rage twinkling in his brown eyes. (the first thing to make his eyes come alive for years now.)

"17 years old and how will he be remembered?" He spewed out, an edge to his voice and a furrow to his brows, "As captain of the water polo team?"

"The Aquaholics?" Jughead had to suppress a smile, and the warm feeling that flooded his veins. For one brief second, he felt at peace. He felt normal again. He wasn't just Jughead, he was JugheadandArchie.

But that didn't last, and the cold crept back into his guts and froze over his blood and he shifted, feeling the lighter in his pocket, feeling the need to try to warm himself up.

"Considering how he died, probably not." Jughead glanced out the window, kept talking, kept his mind going so he didn't stall up and shut down.

"No, what I mean is..." Archie's gaze softened, and that spark of rage died out. His eyes were blank suddenly and he licked his lips as Jughead looked back at him with curiosity, "Was he doing everything he was supposed to do? Everything he wanted. I mean, did he even know what that _was_?"

Leaning back against the booth, Archie blinked slowly as Jughead clenched his jaw and looked down, then out the window and then back at him. Avoiding his gaze. Avoiding the question because it suddenly got deeper then expected but Archie was drunk. He wouldn't be talking about this if he wasn't.

Suddenly, Jughead changed the subject, averting his eyes again as Archie's dark brown blank ones burned holes into him; "Coach Clayton was in here talking to Pop Tate. Varsity." He paused, pursed his lips and nodded, "Does that make you, what, Mr. Popular-Football-God now?"

"No." Archie shook his head and Jughead narrowed his eyes, "In fact, I'm kind of terrified I lost my best friend."

As happy as he is for Betty for finding her soulmate, he can't help but suddenly feel... forgotten about. He thought it was just because he wanted to find his soulmate but it was just the idea of Betty not needing him anymore and he couldn't bare to lose her after already losing Jughead.

"If you mean Betty..." Jughead sighed and rested his arms on the table top, "Whatever happened, just talk to her, man. It would go a long way."

Jughead paused and looked Archie in the eye. He raised his eyebrows and Archie knew what he was going to say. He knew it before Jughead even parted his lips and shame clouded across his face like a goddamned hurricane.

"Would've gone a long way with me."

Nodding solemnly, Archie got out of the booth, his shoulders slumped and the fog of alcohol clouding his brain quickly clearing.

He later found himself collapsed in his bed, staring at the old paintings that 10 year old Juggie made.

Betty was called down to the office the day after the formal.

She panicked at first, thinking it was something she had done, some fuck up she made. Maybe she messed up on the tour she gave Veronica? Maybe they thought she killed Jason? Maybe she's being expelled? But she realized how ridiculous that all was as she walked through the hallway with Kevin. What would she be getting expelled for? What did she do? Nothing. She was the picture perfect student.

The first thing her and Kevin saw when they walked into the office was the largest bouquet of beautiful pale purple orchids.

Kevin rushed over with a skip in his step and plucked the note off the top of the bundle of flowers.

" _Dear Betty, seeing you smile makes my day._

_Love V xoxo_."

With a bewildered expression, Kevin looked up at Betty, "Who's V?"

A grin tugged at Betty's lips and her eyes lit up, "Veronica."

At that very moment, Veronica stepped into the office with a box of cupcakes and smiled warmly at Betty, "Orchid's are for 'delicate beauty.' I thought it suited you."

Betty licked her lips and blushed bright pink, glancing down at her shoes.

"I was wondering," Veronica took a step closer, her hand rested on the box of cupcakes and pink dusting her cheekbones, "If you'd want to go on a date? Really give this a shot, you know? Just you and me, out for dinner." Veronica had to shut herself up before she started nervously rambling.

"I'd love that."

In the hallway near the office was Archie, staring at Jason's picture in the trophy case.

The intercom buzzed and Principal Weatherbee's voice echoed throughout the school about Jason Blossom. How it wasn't a tragic accident. How he was murdered. Sheriff Keller's voice came through the intercom, too, loud and clear, and cut off by Cheryl Blossom before he could finish.

The word _homicide_ lingered in the air of the school, weighing down, crushing the students and teachers as the intercom buzzed off and the halls fell quiet.

"Archie."

The redhead stood up from the water fountain and turned to look at Jughead. His stomach fluttered, terrified as to what his former best friend might have to say to him, terrified because his paranoia was getting the best of him all of a sudden.

"Weirdest thing - " Archie shifted on his feet and withdrew into himself as Jughead spoke, " - This summer, we were supposed to go on a road trip."

Jughead paused, his pale eyes narrowing at Archie and the latter sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"Over July 4th weekend."

Jughead took another step closer to Archie and his stomach churned - _oh god he knows oh god no no please nonono_ \- "Which you bailed on at the last minute."

Archie couldn't even bring himself to answer Jughead's next question, "Is there something you wanna tell me, pal?"

It was only natural that Archie found himself in Ms. Grundy's classroom later, freaking out about _that_ day.

His guilt was eating him alive and he just wanted to tell someone - anyone.

(he wanted to tell Jughead, most of all.)

And of course, Archie has the worst of luck, and Jughead walked by the music room right as Ms. Grundy stepped into his personal space and that was it - his secret was out. Jughead was too smart for his own good.

The sun had fallen below the horizon and the stars winked to life as Archie was walking up to his house that night. He could see the silhouette of someone sitting on his front porch from a mile away and he his heart sped up drastically.

"Jug?" Archie stopped walking, eyes wide as Jughead stood up, "What's up?"

"What's up is I saw you, Archie. In the music room. With Ms Grundy."

As Jughead sauntered toward him, Archie got suddenly livid. He got right up into Jughead's face, pointing a hand toward the door, "Keep your voice down." He snapped, his eyes ablaze, "My dad's inside."

Jughead sneered, "I'm trying to help you, dude." He bit out the word _dude_ , venom dripping from it. Archie's chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself as Jughead continued, his eyes narrowed, "I'm trying to be your friend here, even though we're not anymore. How long? You and Grundy?"

For a moment, Archie was sure he was going to vomit.

Breaking eye contact and trying to swallow his rising vomit, Archie answered quietly, "Since the summer."

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together after that and Jughead's broken heart flashed through his eyes for the quickest of seconds. Archie could swear he imagined it based on how fleeting it was.

"I like her." He dug the knife in deeper.

"So, I'm guessing she's the reason you've been acting weird since summer?"

Archie clenched his jaw and said, "One of them."

"One of them. There's more?"

"We were at Sweetwater river on July 4th. We heard a gunshot. _The_ gunshot."

Jughead has never felt more cold in his life, "Dude, you have to tell somebody -"

"I can't." Archie cut him off quickly, panic rising in his eyes, "Neither can you. If people find out about Grundy - "

Rage flared through Jughead like a white hot flame, consuming him for a brief moment, and he snapped out, "A kid is dead, Archie. And you're worried about some - Some _cougar_."

Archie was in his personal space now, his voice quiet and frustrated and his eyes kept flickering toward the front door of his house, "Don't call her that, okay? She's not like that - "

It took all of Jughead's energy to suppress his eye roll at this.

" - She cares about me."

"Stab in the dark," His eyes were burning with disappointment and his voice was harsh, "I'm guessing she cares more about herself. She's the one telling you to not say anything, right?"

It went silent. Archie had no answer, because he couldn't deny that.

"Look, I saw you guys." Continued Jughead, "She's messing with you, man. And she's messing with your mind."

Suddenly, something yawned awake from deep within Archie and his shoulders slumped in defeat. His lips tightened up in a sarcastic smile and he took half a step back, "I don't even care, Jughead." He announced, voice low and raw with emotion, "I haven't found my soulmate yet and I'm so fucking alone, so I'll just take it where I can get it."

Stunned silence filled the space between both of them, and Jughead raised his eyebrows in question, searching for words to say.

"And frankly," Archie continued, breaking the quiet of the night, "I'm not even that attracted to her. I don't know if that's a soulmate thing - if we're born already in love and that prevents any other type of relationship, but I'm not. She was just there. And she helped me with my music and she fills the space that's supposed to be my soulmate."

A heavy breath pushed past Jughead's lips and his eyes flickered away from Archie for a brief moment, "You've changed a lot." He started, crossing his arms over his chest, "But the Archie that I used to know.. He wasn't perfect, but he wouldn't be this selfish. He'd at least try to do the right thing."

As he turned to walk away, Archie grabbed Jughead's arm, forcing him to stop.

Archie's voice was low, and menacing as he whispered, "If you tell anyone about this..." The threat hung in the air and Jughead almost wanted to laugh. A threat? Who even is this guy anymore?

"What?" Jughead shifted, "What are _you_ gonna do?"

Fred Andrews opened the door at that moment, and Jughead was grateful for the chance to leave. He could feel Archie's stare burning a hole into his retreating back.

But then, Archie took on Reggie at school to defend Jughead against the accusations of being Jason Blossom's murderer and something in Jughead shifted. His stomach churned as he watched Archie take a hard blow to the face and he realized that maybe Archie has changed, but he's still _Archie_.

The pep rally was a blur of colours and voices and flashing lights. Jughead really didn't want to be there but it was Archie's first game on varsity and as much as he wanted to hate him, he wanted to be there for his old friend, too.

Jughead watched from beside the bleachers as Archie approached Ms. Grundy. He watched the expressions fleeting across her face from afar and the stance that Archie held as he looked down on her. Jughead could tell, just from the body language, that Archie wasn't taking no for an answer.

Before he knew what was happening, Archie was standing right in front of him and Jughead's first instinct is always sarcasm.

"Girl trouble? You?" He asked, shifting against the bleachers and tilting his head.

After Archie explained that he was going to be going to Weatherbee, Jughead couldn't suppress the swell of pride and fondness he suddenly felt.

"And also," Archie stopped, and licked his lips, "I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it."

It was such a simple apology, but there was so much weight behind it and it tugged at Jughead. Looking away, he swallowed a lump in his throat and replied, "It's cool."

There was a small smile tugging at Archie's lips when Jughead caught his gaze again. The sounds of the pep rally washed over them, and they smiled at each other, lost in that moment for what felt like hours, not just seconds. But something felt mended between the two of them. Not everything, but _something_. And maybe, just maybe, they could work on mending everything, too.

"We're not gonna hug in front of this whole town."

Archie laughed, and shook his head, but something in his eye sparked and he took a quick step toward Jughead, "Yeah, _we are._ "

It happened so quickly, Jughead almost panicked. Archie laced his arms around Jughead's waist, giving him no chance for escape and scooped him up. He turned around, swinging Jughead so casually and his football gear was hard under Jughead's thin fingers. Once Archie decided that they were in good view of the people of the bleachers, he planted Jughead down and hugged him tight, his head nestled against Jughead's shoulder.

Even though Jughead could feel all the eyes suddenly boring down on them, he wrapped his arms around Archie's shoulders and smiled.

"Friends, right?" Archie asked as he pulled back.

Pursing his lips, Jughead nodded in contemplative thought, "To be discussed. Over many burgers and many days."

Archie took that as a yes.

"I guess I'm just not good enough for her, Arch."

Betty knew that having Veronica Lodge as a soulmate was a terrible thing. Just when Betty was hoping, maybe, they could go official, Veronica accepted a date from the school player and turned her back on Betty. It felt as though when Veronica walked off with that boy, she took all of Betty's heart, too.

"I fell for her quick, even though I was trying so hard not too."

Archie sighed and shrugged, "You're soulmate's, Betty. Maybe, she got scared. But she'll come back to you. It's your fate."

Of course, she comes back with a revenge plot and big, fat, heart felt apology. And, of course, Betty can't say no. She mainly just can't let someone get away with hurting her Veronica. 

And he doesn't get away with it.

As Archie ducked low and made his way up the staircase to the balcony, he caught Jughead's eye. The last person he expected to see a social function like this was Jughead, but there he was, all dark corners and sharp edges and furrowed eyebrows, kneeling behind the railing and watching the Pussycats perform.

"Are you sure it was worth sneaking out for some locally sourced Muenster?" He asked, watching Archie as he settled near him.

Archie's eyes were glued to the stage, "I helped write that song, man."

Instantly, Jughead's demeanor softened and he listened to the song with rapt attention. The lyrics poured over him in a warm wave and the beat was soothing. He looked back to Archie with a fond expression on his face, like he was seeing a whole new part to Archie's soul and he wanted more. With an earnest expression on his face, Archie was watching him, looking hopeful and almost like he _needed_ Jughead's approval.

"Not bad." Was all Jughead could manage before his emotions spilled over, "I'd love to stay, but I have to shake down an evil Adventure Scout. See you."

He got up and hastily made his way around Archie, hoping maybe he'll grab him and tell him to stay and listen and to hear the rest of his song. Hoping maybe Archie will grab him and pull him close and -

\- And he doesn't. And Jughead is gone quick, which is probably for the better.

He should save these feelings for his soul mate, when they meet.

Archie later invites him over to check out his newly soundproof garage that his dad put together so he could practice and Jughead couldn't help but fall a little bit more for this stupid redhead as he listened to him sing.

Jughead watched from the diner window as Betty and Veronica finally found out that Archie and Grundy were having an affair. He watched the shocked expressions, the anger, the disappointment and the disgust. He watched as Veronica stepped closer to Betty, like she could protect her, but she didn't know what from.

"Jug," Archie caught Jughead's arm, and they stopped in the middle of the school hallway for a moment, "She's not gonna write about me and Grundy in the school newspaper, is she? Like she did with Chuck?"

Jughead's expression said nothing but _you are an idiot_ , "Dude. Seriously? Okay. Come on."

Grabbing Archie's shoulder, Jughead began to drag him away, out of the way of the bustling students around them, "Think about what you're asking."

Stopping to turn and look at Archie, Jughead continued, "If there was even an iota of a chance that something could hurt you in any way Betty wouldn't do it."

Relief flooded across Archie's face like a dam breaking. So naturally, Jughead had to ruin that by saying, "Probably."

"Oh, my God!"

"I'm kidding." He said with a quick flash of a smile, "But maybe she has a point. There's nothing happening long term with Grundy and you know that. You'll meet your soul mate soon."

A frustrated sigh pulled itself from Archie throat and he answered, "I know that. But I'm still gonna hang onto this as long as possible."

Jughead looked upon his friend with disappointment.

The drive-in was closed and Jughead couldn't go back to the place his father calls a home. Maybe if they still lived in the house across the street from Archie he could manage to lock himself away from his dad in his room, but that trailer has no room and he can't hide from his dad. All he wants is to be able to go home and have a family again but that's impossible with the state his father is in and he's done all he can to help. All he can do now is not give up hope.

So, he goes to school and he finds a tiny little closet under the stairs and he moves in. It's temporary and it makes him sick to his stomach but it's all he can think of. He was hoping no one would notice before he had a better option lined up in front of him but then, of course, Archie was at the school early for God only know's why.

Jughead was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, his hair wet and flopping in his eyes without his beanie to keep it in place, when Archie scared the living shit out of him in the locker room.

As Jughead turned around, awkwardly laughing about the situation, it was hard to miss how Archie's eyes traveled. Jughead felt the need to cover up immediately, feeling oddly exposed and vulnerable.

"No, really. Jughead, what are you doing in here?"

The last thing he wanted to do was to admit to Archie that he was homeless, but it seemed there was no way out of this now.

The soul crushing silence that weighed down on their shoulders as Archie was kneeling in Jughead's little cupboard made it really hard to breathe.

"Why the hell are you not living at home?"

_Well, Archie, it isn't home to me anymore_ , "Truth is, things aren't good at home." Jughead's voice was slow, and raw and he couldn't meet Archie's eyes.

"With your dad?"

"Yeah. He kind of fell off the wagon. After your dad fired him, to tell you the truth." There was a delicacy to Jughead that made Archie want to just hug him and solve all his problems, but maybe he'd shatter under the force of his arms and Archie wasn't sure he'd be able to put the pieces back together - but he'd sure as hell try, "Hasn't had a job since. He keeps promising that he's gonna get his act together but my mom couldn't take that roller coaster anymore. She grabbed Jellybean and went to live with our grandparents."

The bells rang and Jughead grabbed his bag, muttering out, "Come on."

"God, Jug. Why didn't you tell me? Where does your dad think you are?"

"He thinks I'm couch-surfing." The door to his little closet clicked shut and he fell into step with Archie.

With a complete look of disbelief, Archie replied, "Well, screw that. Live with me."

Always the hero.

"This is temporary, man." Jughead stopped walking, shaking his head, "I'm going to figure something out. Just don't tell anybody."

He was tempted to take Archie up on his offer, though. It would be like old times, when they would stay in their tree house for nights on end, reading and painting and playing. They'd always passed out in a bundle of blankets, within arms reach of each other, listening to each other breathing. Yeah, he was tempted to live with Archie, but it also terrified him.

Jughead walked away quickly, shoulders slumped, Archie watching after him.

When FP Jones took the job back from Fred Andrews, Jughead felt a little flutter of hope, and when he saw Archie the first time after his dad got the job, he could've sworn he felt warm.

Things almost, _almost_ , felt normal for once in a long time when the four of them went out for dinner that night.

Sitting across the table from his dad, Archie suddenly blurted out, "Dad, tell us about soul marks." And maybe it was manipulative to put him on the spot like that because he knows that his dad won't snap at him quite the same way he did 2 years ago with people around, but he needed to know.

In stead, FP leaned forward slightly and answered for him, "What do you wanna know?"

"Oh, um." Archie blinked in shock, "How do you know that it's half complete?"

FP leaned back again and rested his hand on the table, "Can't speak for everyone when it comes to soul marks, but from what I've seen, they're always pretty simple designs that'll have some form of significance in the lives of those two people."

Archie's mind went straight to Betty and Veronica and how their soul marks looked exactly like the megaphone on the cheerleading uniform of the River Vixens - the thing that kind of bonded the two of them, because Veronica had taught and practiced with Betty and then ferociously defended her against Cheryl. They may have already been soul mates, but that was when they bonded, when they fell for each other, whether Betty wanted to deny it or not.

"How do you know if they're halved already?"

"That's really easy to tell." FP scoffed.

Glancing down at the table top, Archie tried to think of a way to word his next question, "What if - um. What if your soul mark is already complete?"

None of them caught the panicked, weirded out look Jughead briefly shot Archie.

FP was taken aback for a second, then answered, "Guess you already met 'em."

Not wanting to press the subject any further, Archie slumped slightly, and replied, "Yeah, guess so."

Later that night, while taking off his dad's shoes for him, Jughead couldn't help but think about the questions Archie was asking about soul marks when all of a sudden, FP mumbled out, "Yours is already complete too, eh?" in his drunken stupor.

That statement sent Jughead reeling.

When Jughead was arrested and Archie had to watch him be marched out of the school by Weatherbee and Sheriff Keller, his world felt like it was crashing down around him. He felt as though he couldn't breathe, he was so terrified.

"I don't want to be a scapegoat, Arch."

The room they were sitting in was burning and cold at the same time. It made Archie's eyes hurt and his fingers ached against the metal of the table. He felt the strong urge to reach across and grab Jughead's trembling hands and link their fingers together to calm them both down, but he suppressed that.

"We're gonna get you out of here, don't worry, Jug." Archie tried a supportive smile, but he was scared, too.

A deep breath was released from somewhere deep in Jughead's chest, and he looked up into Archie's dark eyes, "Is my dad here yet?"

"My - uh. My dad is. He's talking to the sheriff." Archie paused, let Jughead look away and try to collect himself, "We don't know where your dad is."

Bitterness washed over Jughead like a tsunami and he almost laughed. Of _fucking_ course FP does this, what else did Jughead expect?

Lying to a sheriff is a criminal offense, but this is Fred Andrew's issue:

When the boys were young, he'd take them to the beach sometimes. He saw what no one else did when they were only 7 years old.

When Archie was 10 and wouldn't shut up about all the things he wanted to do for Jughead for when he came home from juvie, he heard what no one else heard.

When the boys were 14, they had their separate interests, but always made their way back to each other after football practice and writing class.

Now that the boys are 16, Fred still sees what no one else does, and he'll be _damned_ if he lets false accusations pull his boys apart.

Which is why, when the prospect of Jughead moving in was presented, he didn't hesitate to say no.

At 11 o'clock at night, Archie was blowing up an air mattress for Jughead to crash on for as long as he needs. Jughead was sitting on his bed, Archie's guitar in hand but his mind was a blank slate.

Archie glanced over him, opened his mouth, closed it, then finally said, "I'm sorry about my dad and your dad."

"I'm not giving up on him, Arch," Jughead finally caught Archie's gaze, his eyes dull and his expression empty, "Not yet."

"You'll think he'll show up for work tomorrow?"

Glancing away from the redhead, Jughead answered, "You never know. I hope."

Going back to blowing up the mattress, Archie didn't give Jughead an answer - there wasn't really an answer. Jughead ran his fingers along the guitar, feeling the rough wires under his fingers and the love that Archie has poured into it. It wasn't an old guitar, but it felt like it already had so many stories buried in it's wood and paint and metal.

When the mattress was full of air and resembling a bed, Archie went and got spare blankets and pillows. He stretched a sheet over it, threw some pillows down onto one end of it and tossed a blanket over it.

Then, he stood there, and glanced between Jughead and the blow up mattress, a pensive expression on his face. How long has it been since Jughead has slept on a real bed? How could Archie put him on an almost-real bed again?

"So, uh - " Archie scratched the back of his neck, "You're taking my bed?"

It didn't sound like a question, more like an announcement and Jughead stood up fast, Archie's guitar nearly slipping from his grip, "No, Arch - "

"Yeah." Archie cut him off with a nod, and glanced over at his alarm clock, "It's late. We don't have time to argue about this. Let's just get to bed?"

The fight brewing in Jughead died out quickly and he shuffled over to put the guitar back in the place where he found it. As he turned around and pulled off his beanie, his gaze got caught on Archie.

The redhead was pulling his shirt over his head and with his arms stretched up, Jughead saw the small mark right under his armpit, on his rib cage.

Jughead struggled to find his words, his heart pounding, quick and loud - "Arch?"

"Mmm?" Archie hummed and pulled his shirt off completely, looking over to Jughead with a tilt to his head and a question in his eyes.

Pointing towards Archie loosely with the hand gripping his beanie, Jughead swallowed and asked, "Is that your soul mark?"

Archie's expression blanched, and he suddenly looked very, very empty. Lifting up his arm, he kind of looked into the general area where it was.

Getting a better look now, Jughead saw the soul mark for what it really was - a small outline of a crown with three points. His heart stopped and his mind went straight to the matching mark he had on his rib cage, in the exact same spot.

"Yup." Archie's flat voice broke Jughead out of his reckless thoughts, "That's my soul mark. I think somethings wrong with me though."

"Why - " Jughead had to stop and collect his thoughts so he wouldn't choke, "What makes you say that?"

Dropping his arm, Archie wandered over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. He began to slip out of his jeans as he spoke, "It's definitely not half of something, like everyone else's mark. But, you'd think I'd remember meeting my soulmate? Because my mark is definitely complete."

Jughead didn't take his shirt off for bed that night, opting to hide his soul mark from Archie's prying eyes.

For the days to come, Jughead would wake at 5 am to have a shower before Archie could wake up. He didn't want to risk having his soul mark exposed as he walked around with just a towel around his waist or as he got dressed. By the time Archie would wake up and get functioning for school, Jughead would already have a pot of coffee made and his butt would be planted in the sunny kitchen with Fred. They would always be talking about the weather for the day over steaming mugs and making jokes but Jughead's smile would never really reach his eyes.

"You and Archie seem different."

Betty tilted her head in the slightest _talk to me?_ kind of way and it almost made Jughead want to give in. He looked into her deep sea blue eyes and saw -

\- Nothing.

Since the Fourth of July, Betty has lost her sparkle. Her eyes used to be hurricanes of knowledge and crashing waves of emotions but then Polly was sent away because she was sick. And things have continued to just get worse and worse for Betty as she learns more and more about her family. It's been disappointment after heartbreak after disappointment. Her mom and dad have sucked the stars right out of her eyes like a black hole.

"We're fine, Betty."

After Gladys took Jellybean and left FP and Jughead, FP had to sell the house. The last thing he wanted to do was take Jughead away from his home and say goodbye to where all the best moments of his life happened. He didn't want to walk away the living room where Jellybean took her first steps, or the kitchen where Jughead accidentally said his first swear word. He didn't want to leave the room where Jughead had taken a sharpie to the wall (FP painted over it, but you can still see a faint outline of the drawing under the white) He didn't want to walk away from the front porch that him and his wife sat on so many days in a row, having coffee as the kids got ready for school. And Jughead didn't want to walk away from his tree house.

A few weeks after Jughead started living with the Andrews', he came home to the obnoxious noise of tools and yelling from the backyard. Curiosity took over and Jughead made his way through the creaking gate that lead to the backyard instead of inside.

Archie and and his father had made a mess of the backyard.

A colossal mess.

There was wood and tools and sawdust all over the damn place. Archie's safety goggles were askew across his eyes and Fred's flannel was torn in more than one place.

"What have you guys decided to wreck now?"

Fred nearly dropped the drill he had in his hand as Archie whipped away from him to face Jughead. A huge grin broke across the redhead's face,

"We're building the tree house!"

That was all that needed to be said. There was no _other_ tree house.

Something tugged at Jughead's stomach and emotions crashed over him in waves. His mind was pulled back into memories of art and comic books and christmas lights and too many blankets and too many nights. He was pulled back into an ocean of hope and love and laughter as he remember those nights spent at his easel with Archie and Betty to his back, the candy thrown at him and the paint splattered across the wooden walls. He could almost _smell_ it again, the wood and the leaves and the rain and the night.

With his breath stuck in his throat, Jughead took a shaky step forward, "You're building _the_ tree house?"

Archie nodded vigorously, "Maybe a bit bigger, because, you know, we aren't 10 anymore and we barely fit it in the last time we were in it but. Yeah."

Fred stood up and stretched out his back, shooting a smile at Jughead, "We do have all the shit you guys had in it in the basement," Then he gestured at his son, who ducked his head, "It was Archie's idea. He noticed you've been down recently. Although, I gotta say, most people get their friends chocolate or ice cream to cheer them up. Not build them an entire tree house."

Jughead stared at Archie until the redhead looked back up at him. His eyes were dark and never ending and Jughead had to summon up all his effort to breathe and look away. He shrugged off his flannel and pulled an extra pair of safety goggles from a bin near the deck.

As they all worked together that Saturday afternoon with the sun beating down on Jughead's back, he felt, if only for a moment, that it had warmed him up.

"It's been over a year since you guys moved out of the house across the street."

It was 3 am and Archie knew he was approaching a touchy subject with Jughead, but he's Archie and he's actually stupid sometimes.

Jughead instantly tensed up, his shoulders squaring up and a rush of chills overwhelming him. But, he was sitting at his easel in the tree house (2.0) and he hoped Archie wasn't paying close enough attention from his spot on the mattress to notice this change in demeanor.

"Do you think they use that treehouse?"

Picturing the empty, boring, cold and unused tree house across the street made an iron fist clench down around Jughead's stomach, urging him to puke. Of course, he'll never let that be shown, so he replied, with his hand stilled over the canvas, "They fucking better."

Archie was trying to make light of it all, but he saw the way Jughead's shoulders tensed and the way his grip almost broke his paintbrush. He felt the waves of depression radiating off his best friend and he ached to just push the topic a bit more, to listen a bit more like he was supposed to last summer, to move just a bit closer. But he couldn't.

He wouldn't.

Before they knew it, Betty, Archie, Veronica and Jughead were starting their last year in school.

Jughead got a job at a small cafe, the one place all those coffee addicts go to first place in the morning because Riverdale is too small to have a Starbucks just yet. He had already saved up more than enough to move into his own place, but Archie just won't let him. Not that Archie was actually telling Jughead, _no dont go_ , but more like Jughead couldn't bring himself to leave the Andrews.

They had become the family he was supposed to have and he didn't want to give that up yet, not for growing up to fast.

He started trying to pay rent to Fred, who would shove the money right back into his face and tell him to spend it on food, or something.

Betty got accepted into her dream college and Veronica and her started looking into apartments in the city they'll be moving too, because Veronica would be damned if she didn't go with Betty.

Hermione tried to offer to help, but Veronica refused. She knew that Betty would want to do something like this on her own and frankly, she wanted to have the normal life experience with her girlfriend, too.

There's no way anyone was going to take away Veronica's fantasy of having a shitty, small shoe box apartment with Betty, with make up cluttering the bathroom and no one to tell them to clean their cozy room but each other and blankets all over the place for them to cuddle under on the cold nights.

Archie's grades dropped and his performance on the field worsened. More and more people around them were finding their soulmates and everyday Archie went without meeting his, the more of a depression he fell into.

Sure, Archie had other shit to be depressed about, but all that happened in the past. Live and let live, right? He can't change what's already happened. He can't bring back his mom, and he can't _unmurder_ Jason and he can't undo all the mistakes he's made in the past couple years. So, yeah, this lack of soulmate shit is bugging him the most because it's still _right now._

He lost his place on the football team over his depression and his music suffered, too. He thought, maybe, he could channel this bone-deep emptiness into lyrics and music and art, but the moment he would pick up his guitar, he would deflate.

The four of them were sitting at a picnic table together at lunch one dreary afternoon.

Almost nothing felt different. Betty and Veronica were holding hands across the table, Archie was tapping his fingers against the table top as he spoke, Jughead mooched off everyone else's lunch - and then Veronica swung her head to Jughead and changed the course of everything;

"Jughead, you've never told us about your soul mark."

Without hesitation, Jughead answered around the food in his mouth, "I don't have one."

"Well, that's bullshit." Betty scoffed.

With his brows furrowed, Archie gazed upon Jughead with dark curiosity.

Jughead met his eyes without a flinch and Archie found he couldn't look away as Jughead spoke lowly, "I met my soul mate, already."

From beside him, Veronica ripped her hand away from Betty's and covered her mouth, "Oh. My. God." She punctuated every word as she smiled for her friend, "Well, who is it? Do we go to school with them?"

He nodded briefly, but they were pushing a subject he didn't want to talk about and something ripped across Jughead's chest, something akin to thunder and he suddenly couldn't breathe. He uneasily un-tucked one of his feet from under him and planted it on the ground, hoping to slow the spinning of the world around him but everything was speeding up. Instead of the school yard and his friends, he was surrounded by a blur of color and he was going to vomit.

He stumbled to his feet and gripped the side of the table, steadying himself.

Like an echo from the other end of a tunnel, he heard Betty's voice, "Jug? Are you okay?"

And Jughead's stomach lurched at the question because no, no he isn't okay and no he'll probably never be okay because his life is a fucking shit show and he knows who his soulmate is but they will never work out and soul mates don't mean shit anyway, his parents were soulmates and his mom left so damn quickly and what if his soul mate does that to him what if he becomes his dad what if oh _godwhatif_ -

_ is this what a panic attack feels like? _

How he got to the bathroom, he'll never know, but he found himself on the floor with the cold tile of the wall pressed against his forehead and someone looming over him.

A voice filtered into his mind slowly and he glanced up to see Archie's lips moving and Archie's eyes flaring white hot with anger;

"- and how the fuck could you never tell me?"

Jughead stood up on shaky legs and supported his aching bones against the sink. He ran the water until it was ice cold, and then bent down to splash his face for a moment, clearing the panicked fog from his mind.

"I don't think it's a big deal." His voice was as shaky as the world around him and Jughead caught Archie's angered look through the mirror.

Archie threw his hands up, "It's your fucking soulmate, Jug. Of course it's a big deal! Who is it?"

Jughead's stomach dropped as he gazed at Archie and he swallowed the rising bile in his throat, "What does it matter to you?"

Something in Archie crumbled at that question. Through the mirror, Jughead watched as his best friend's anger cracked and reined in. He watched as Archie's eyes flickered away and then back, and he watched as Archie swallowed the words he was actually going to say.

"I just want you to find someone." Archie mumbled out as Jughead's throat seized up again.

He tried to walk away from the redhead, but the world was still lopsided and his bones were weighed down by anxiety and he couldn't move quite as fast as he wanted too at this point.

So, instead, Jughead turned a blank stare upon his best friend and snapped out, "And if I don't want that?"

Archie's expression conveyed nothing of what that question did to him but he felt as though his body was made of porcelain, with spiderwebs of fine cracks and he was about to fall apart at the slightest of whispers.

That was that whisper.

"I don't want that, Arch." Jughead shook his head, his chest stuttering as he tried to breathe, "I don't give a damn about all this soul mate crap. I'm not interested in relationships, I'm not interested in feelings or sex or dates or romance. I'm just _not_."

Jughead's voice got harsh, and Archie couldn't, for the life of him, understand why he was so mad. If that's the case, why does he care to keep it all concealed? Who is he hiding?

Does Archie even want to know?

The door slammed behind Jughead and the noise reverberated throughout the empty, cold bathroom.

All that money that Jughead had saved up to get his own apartment went toward getting his own car.

Silently, throughout the course of a few weeks, Jughead went about packing up most of his belongings from the Andrew's house. Then, he got his full license and he started to pack up more of his stuff, like clothes that he doesn't wear as often and his retainer and sketchbooks. Then, they graduated and he packed up everything.

Jughead went to the ceremony and the dinner, but he skipped out on the actual dancing part of grad and he definitely skipped out on the after party that someone was most likely going to throw.

He found himself sitting in Pop's diner around 11pm, with a milkshake melting away slowly in front of him and the neon lights basking him in a soft pink glow.

The door jingled opened, but Jughead didn't bother to look up. The air in the room shifted and the hair on the back of his neck stood up in deja vu.

"Jughead," Archie's voice rang out, "Can I sit?"

Instead of replying, or even looking up, Jughead just gestured to the other side of booth in a _do whatever you want_ type of way. Archie hesitantly slid into the booth.

"Why weren't you at the dance?"

Shrugging, Jughead replied, "Not my kind of thing."

But Archie knew this already. Hell, his knowledge on all things Jughead Jones runs through his veins.

"Why aren't you?" Jughead turned Archie's own question against him and finally dared a looked at his best friend.

Archie cast a rueful smile and answered, "Was weird without you."

"Would've been weird with me, too."

The weak laughter that pulled itself from the boys faded very quick. There was no denying that there was something off, something broken between the two of them. It hung in the air above their heads, it pushed against their chests and it fogged their minds.

Eventually, Jughead sighed and pushed his milkshake out of the way, leaving a trail of water from the condensation along the table top, "I suppose I can finally tell you."

Archie's heart beat stuttered as Jughead leaned forward slightly. His mind was suddenly a broken record from his prayer of this being about Jughead's soulmate.

But Jughead seemed at a loss for words all of a sudden. His jaw worked wordlessly and his tongue was stuck to the top of his mouth.

He slid his lanky body out of the booth and stripped off his suit jacket. His jaw was set as he untucked his shirt and averted his eyes.

It was like tearing off a band aid, Jughead lifting up his shirt. He didn't pull it up all the way. Just the slightest amount it took to reveal his soul mark that sat on his rib cage, complete, just like he had said.

Archie's fingers tingled as he stared, mouth agape. Without even realizing it, his fingers had made their way to rest against his very own rib cage - where his complete, matching soul mark burned.

Quickly, Jughead tucked his shirt back in and grabbed his jacket, throwing it on aimlessly. He stood there, awkward, at the edge of the table and refused to meet Archie's blank, wide eyes.

But, suddenly, there was a sparkle in those dark depths that hadn't been there in a really long time and Archie came to. He shot out of the booth quick enough for Jughead to stumble back a step, guard immediately going back up.

"Juggie, this is amazing!" Archie exclaimed as he reached for his best friend, "This explains everything!"

Anger flickered through Archie's eyes for a brief moment and he dropped his arm, "But you knew that already."

"How could I not with you prancing around the house shirtless for over a year?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there." Jughead let out a strained chuckle and raised his hand in between them, a sign to stop, "This is going to go somewhere that I don't feel like addressing so how about lets just mutually suppress our emotions and go home?"

When Archie woke up the next morning, Jughead was gone. Every trace of Jughead in the household of the Andrew's was gone, like he was never there in the first place.

Jellybean screamed out Jughead's name as he showed up at his grandparents house. His mother watched fondly from the window as he walked up to the front door, only for 12 year old little Jellybean to slam into him with a big bear hug.

His grandparents greeted him with warm smiles and big hugs and his mom was crying as she watched.

Jughead stayed with them for 7 months before he was able to get a job in this new town and save up enough to get a small, shitty apartment near the strip mall that he worked in. He got a new phone, with a new phone number and deleted all his social media, effectively dropping off the face of the earth. Archie's daily phone calls and spamming text messages stopped.

Betty was smart enough to get Jughead's mother's phone number from his dad back in Riverdale. Her and Veronica and Archie would call every now and then with the same question, "Have you heard from Jug?"

And every time his mother would say, "No." because she knew that Jughead didn't want to be reminded of what was.

He spent his birthday every year to come after that at the local movie theater with Jellybean, watching whatever movie she asked because he couldn't deny his little sister anything in this world. And every year, he thought of the Bijou and Archie.

Before he knew it, he was 23 and all attempts of his old life trying to rein him back in were stopped.

Jughead's girlfriend was 24 years old. She was the red-headed barista at the Starbucks that Jughead would go to everyday before work and eventually she asked for his number and the story behind the beanie that he never took off.

For some reason, he felt comfortable with telling her.

She told him the story of how she met her soulmate, and why she chose not to be with him. She told him that soul marks aren't always a meaning of love, and her and her soulmate were just best friends, even though they tried to be more.

Marriage was out of the question for the two of them - maybe even love was, but they stuck together. They developed a deep care for each other, a comfort that they both needed. Jughead never wanted the commitment of a relationship, thought it was pointless and overrated. She just didn't care enough, was happy to go on coffee dates and sit beside each other on the couch in Jughead's living room and watch their favourite movies. Jellybean loved her, and so did Jughead's mom and that made him think that maybe it was supposed to be something.

People started to talk, seeing as it was a smaller town than Riverdale and next thing they knew, they were forced under the label of 'dating' by everyone around them. They just went with it. Too into their own worlds to even deny it.

"I think I want to have a kid, Jug."

It wasn't too long after her 26th birthday and Jughead's head started spinning with the news. His coffee mug slipped from his hand and shattered across the floor, the crack of it deafening and the coffee burning his bare feet.

There was a ringing in his ears as he turned to look at her, "I don't know if I can give you that, Marlo."

She sighed, her hand running her through her long fiery hair and worry etched into every line of her face, "I'm just. I'm getting old."

A sharp laugh pulled itself from Jughead's throat, and he had to steady himself against the counter as his mind raced, "You're only 26!"

Marlo glanced down into her own mug of coffee, the steam dancing around her face in the early morning sun, "Before we know it, I'll be 30. And then 35. And if I wait too long, they'll be too young when I'm 70 and I can't have that."

Silence fell.

Jughead took in a shaky breath, "That's a good point."

Hope lit up Marlo's face.

They named him Andrew. Marlo loved the name when Jughead suggested it, but she didn't know why he suggested it. She didn't know that he could only think of the family that took him in when he needed it the most, of the boy that he left behind, of what he could of had (should've had.)

He could only think of The Andrews.

And when Andrew Jones was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with Leukimia.

The closest town that had doctors that could provide the treatments was Riverdale.

When Andrew Jones lost all his hair, Jughead gave his son the old crown beanie that he still wore everyday, and Jughead never put another hat on again. (no other hat felt right.)

Marlo and Jughead moved to Riverdale because of course they would do anything for their kid, but after three years, Andrew didn't survive.

He passed away peacefully at the age of 7 and Marlo fell into a deep depression that Jughead couldn't help her with. She moved back to the town that Jughead met her in, and he stayed in Riverdale.

They never talked again.

Jughead was 32 and he was sitting in the same booth at Pop's as he had all those years ago with the friends that he was trying to forget about. It was past midnight and he had a chocolate milkshake sitting in front of him, untouched and melting away, dripping condensation on the table top.

The bell of the door dinged, and echoed through the entire diner, and Jughead's heart skipped a beat in deja vu.

An older man stepped in, the door swinging shut behind him. His eyes were surrounded by wrinkles and his 5'oclock shadow was getting out of hand. His fiery red hair was slicked back, and peppered with grey's around the temple's. His eye's had a young spark to them still and were flickering around, like he had never seen the diner before, but Jughead knew better. This man had seen this diner a hundred times before.

This man turned, and made his way to Jughead's booth, and his eye's looked old suddenly, worn down. And his voice was old and worn down too, when he stopped and hesitantly said, "Can I sit, Jughead?"

"If you want, Archie."

**Author's Note:**

> left it open for a part 2???? also scared a part 2 will ruin it?????


End file.
